Deal defined-Best rifle for the money,Ruger express cost more,Winchester express i think is a lot of rifle for the money.But I think the ruger is a lot of rifle for the money also.Rate the rifles on craftsmanship & quality.I have handled the pre64 win.& the new win.&sauer&cz& ruger&remington,but not the dakota or a-square or browning.The dakota looks like one of the best to my eye,the sauer 202was a 375 and was also beautiful& handled great,the ruger felt barrel heavy & unbalanced& big,The winchesters balanced great & shot perfect groups,Remington same as winchester bolt feed smooth as glass,super accurate,cz felt & looked to be cheaper quality i,e.stock ,blueing,metal work,not as snappy as others coming to shoulder for me,A-square looks to be a nice quality rifle,would like to try the a-square& Dakota some day,also would like to try the old fn brownings,wouldnt know what to look for in the salt wood stocks on the old brownings though,I guess one would have to take the stock off and look for rust?Never tried a sako either,or steyr,but seems like the control feed rules for dangerous game hunting.On the rifles i have shot and handled in all honestly,keeping in mind my build and fit the sauer 202 felt the best with the winchester & remington custom shop about tied for second.I really need to try the others,I think the dakotas look like a lot of quality rifle!
I did read a story the other day about a alaska guide who had a old mauser action 458 ,plastic stock,that was UGLY ,that he built & was one of his favorite rifles for backing up hunters after the great bears,Handled & shot like a dream to him!!!Also the old guides & hunters have a lot of great things to say about the old pre64 winchesters....